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Constitution

Union Hopes High As Chileans Rewrite Anti-Labor Constitution

July 29, 2021 Yoel Bitran, Labor Notes. , , ,
Many Americans have become accustomed to hearing that every presidential election is “the most important in a generation.” But for Chileans like myself, these words were undeniably true when describing our election on May 15 and 16. When we went to the polls that weekend, we did so not just to choose who would be our next mayors, governors, and councilpersons, but also to choose who would write the next constitution—from scratch. Following a November 2020 referendum in which 80 percent of voters supported a new constitution, 155 constitutional delegates were elected in May to design the legal and political framework for the country’s future. Independent candidates, mostly of the left and center-left, received almost one-third of the seats.

Towards A New Chilean Constitution

May 30, 2021 Barbara Fernández Melleda, Alborada. , , ,
A leaderless social movement gathering millions of people across Chile began in October 2019. After decades of protests over healthcare, pensions, education and other issues, these multiple demands converged as one general clamour for social justice and dignity. The referendum for the new constitution, one of the core objectives, would reveal that the status quo had lost legitimacy and that the Chilean people were demanding the re-foundation of the country. This meant dismantling the legacy of the Pinochet regime which benefited a handful of people who today own companies that once belonged to the Chilean State. These were privatised very quickly and cheaply during the dictatorship.Con

Chile: Left, Independent Forces Win Majority Of Constituents

May 17, 2021 Telesur English. , , ,
While the nationwide results for governors, mayors and councilors will not be known until later Sunday night, and final results may not be known for another week, the vote for Chile's constitutional convention has been tallied and announced this Sunday night. In a surprise for Chile's left and independent parties, the center-left Apruebo list has received 24 seats while the left-wing Communist-Broad Front Apruebo Dignidad list has finished in second with 28 seats. With three milion votes counted, representing just 15% of the registered electorate, the Nueva Constitución list has received 9 seats whereas the Del Pueblo list has received 21. 17 of the 155 seats have been reserved for indigenous people and 15 other seats have been won by a mix of other independent parties.

Revolutionary Workers Mount Election Campaign In Chile

March 8, 2021 Left Voice. , , ,
On April 11, Chile will elect a convention to write a new constitution, which will replace the constitution of 1980, written by the far-right dictator Augusto Pinochet. Left Voice spoke with two candidates running to join the Constitutional Convention, Joseffe Cáceres and Daniel Vargas, both from the Revolutionary Workers’ Party (PTR). Joseffe Cáceres is a leader of the union of cleaning workers at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences near Santiago. She is a member of the national leadership of the PTR and a spokesperson of the women’s group Pan y Rosas (Bread and Roses). She is a candidate in one of the districts on the periphery of Santiago made up of slums. She is 33 years old and a mother. She joined the PTR when she was a young hip-hop activist. Daniel Vargas is a lawyer who, during Chile’s October 2019 rebellion, became well known for defending people who had been arrested.

Haiti: Danny Shaw Reports On The Serious Political And Social Crisis

February 23, 2021 Danny Shaw, Council on Hemispheric Affairs. , , ,
COHA’s Senior Research Fellow, professor Danny Shaw, opens a window to the mass movement in Haiti which is demanding President Jovenel Moïse step down and cease rule by decree. Demonstrators are also calling for the release of political prisoners, the restoration of the Supreme Court justices, Police Inspector General and other opposition figures who have been fired, and an end to U.S., United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) intervention on behalf of foreign interests in their country. A broad convergence of opposition parties and social movements maintain that Moïse’s term in office ended on February 7, 2021, while Moïse argues his mandate continues for another year and seeks to hold a referendum on a new constitution this April.

Driver Lawsuit Says Uber And Lyft’s Proposition 22 Is Unconstitutional

January 12, 2021 Dara Kerr, CNet. , , ,
A trio of ride-hail drivers filed a lawsuit in California's Supreme Court on Tuesday alleging Proposition 22 is unconstitutional. The proposition was voted into law by California residents in November and ensures gig workers in the state are classified as independent contractors, rather than employees. Proposition 22 was authored by gig economy companies, including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart, which spent more than $205 million to get the ballot measure passed. It exempts the companies from a state law requiring that they treat their workers as employees. The proposition has only been in effect for one month and already it's facing challenges.

Shahid Buttar: The Crisis Is Constitutional

November 9, 2020 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
The presidential election has been called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I speak with Constitutional lawyer and activist Shahid Buttar about what that means for our work on issues of social justice, his campaign to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her congressional seat, and critical issues of the day such as the media, democracy, militarization and mass surveillance. Buttar points out that the crises we face are more than political. The United States is in a Constitutional crisis and legislators such as California's Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein are at the helm.

Social Movements Can Win Even With A Hostile Supreme Court

November 2, 2020 Mukund Rathi, Truthout. , ,
With the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, how will the Supreme Court decide future cases? Most people will probably think of it as a “6-3 Court” and expect decisions based on the number of justices nominated by each of the two ruling parties. Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act, was a perfect 5-4 split between the justices nominated by Democrats and Republicans at the time. The justices, of course, disagree. They admit the nominations are political but the justice is not, “once that black robe goes on.”

Radical Neoliberalism Was Born And Will Die In Chile

October 31, 2020 Patricio Zamorano, Council on Hemispheric Affairs. , , ,
A wave of Indigenous peoples supporting the Luis Arce-David Choquehuanca presidential ticket defeated the main right-wing candidate, Carlos Mesa by 20 points, restoring democracy to Bolivia. Just days later around 80% of Chilean voters decided by referendum to re-found their nation with a new constitution. These momentous events represent twin victories for Latin American independence, the rejection of radical neoliberalism, a desire for socio-economic reform, and the insistence on self-determination from the bottom-up.

Chile: Left-Wing Forces Seek New Start With The Plebiscite

October 21, 2020 Telesur English. , , ,
Chile's Communist Party (PC) will do everything it can to guarantee a victory in the upcoming referendum on Sunday 25, as the country gets ready to decide whether it remains with the current constitution created by Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship or starts a brand new chapter of its history instead. The CP President Guillermo Teillier told local media outlet  El Siglo that his party will support mobilization until the last day of permitted propaganda and encourage social organizations to do the same.

DeJoy’s USPS Changes Violate Federal Law

September 10, 2020 the Constitutional Accountability Center, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Before USPS leaders may implement changes that will impact mail delivery on a substantially nationwide basis, the law requires certain procedures to be followed. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, however, ignored that law, instead pushing ahead with changes that have slowed mail delivery across America.   Removing collection boxes. Dismantling high-speed mail sorting machines. Reducing employee overtime pay and delivery hours. Telling 46 states and the District of Columbia that the USPS could not guarantee timely delivery of mail-in ballots for the November election.

Teen Who Organized BLM Rally Billed $2500 For Police Overtime

August 30, 2020 AP News. , , ,
A teen who organized a Black Lives Matter rally in her northern New Jersey town said she has been sent a $2500 bill from officials for police overtime. NJ Advance Media reported Friday Emily Gil, 18, of Englewood Cliffs received a letter earlier this month from Mayor Mario M. Kranjac looking for payment of $2,499.26 “for the police overtime caused by your protest.” A civil liberties advocate called the move “shocking.” Gil, a recent high school graduate, had organized a protest on July 25 in the town, just across the river from the uppermost parts of Manhattan. She said she called for action like increasing affordable housing in the town, and chastised Engelwood Cliffs for not implementing it over the years.

When Can A Soldier Disobey An Order?

June 2, 2020 John Ford, War on the Rocks. , , ,
In March 1968, a U.S. infantry platoon under the command of 2nd Lt. William “Rusty” Calley conducted a raid of a hamlet called My Lai in Quang Ngai Province of South Vietnam. After taking the hamlet, Calley ordered his men to round up the remaining civilians, herd them into a ditch, and gun them down. Somewhere between 350 and 500 civilians were killed on Calley’s instruction. Calley was court-martialed for his actions and charged with 22 counts of murder. At his trial, he testified that his company commander, Capt. Ernest Medina, had ordered him to kill “every living thing” in My Lai, telling him there were no civilians there, only Viet Cong. When Calley radioed back to Medina that the platoon had rounded up a large number of unarmed civilians, he claimed Medina told him to “waste them.”

On Contact: Death Of The US Constitution

April 6, 2020 Chris Hedges, On Contact, RTAmerica. , , ,
On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to constitutional scholar Bruce Fein about the death of our US Constitution. Ralph Nader, with constitutional scholars Louis Fisher and Bruce Fein, wrote to the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on November 22 urging her to focus on 12 Articles of Impeachment President Donald Trump had allegedly violated during his administration. Among them: flouting the emoluments clause, expanding presidential wars, and spending billions of dollars on projects not appropriated by the US Congress.

DOJ Wants To Suspend Certain Constitutional Rights During Coronavirus Emergency

March 26, 2020 Peter Wade, Informationclearinghouse.info , , ,
The Trump Department of Justice has asked Congress to craft legislation allowing chief judges to indefinitely hold people without trial and suspend other constitutionally-protected rights during coronavirus and other emergencies, according to a report by Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan. While the asks from the Department of Justice will likely not come to fruition with a Democratically-controlled House of Representatives, they demonstrate how much this White House has a frightening disregard for rights enumerated in the Constitution. The DOJ has requested Congress allow any chief judge of a district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation,” according to draft language obtained by Politico.
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